


Part One - Well Met by Moonlight

by Saraleee



Series: Nwalin Week 2014 [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Adventures, Dwalin is female in this one, F/M, Nori and Dwalin week, fem!Dwalin - Freeform, male!Nori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-24 05:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1593932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saraleee/pseuds/Saraleee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody messes with Dwalin -- she is the best bodyguard in Ered Luin, big, beautiful, muscular and strong. </p><p>She is completely loyal to Thorin Oakenshield, so when he asks her to guard a magnificent collection of jewels from a mysterious burglar, she does as she's asked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Part One - Well Met by Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> So Dwalin is a dwarrowdam in this story. 
> 
> I've got a series of stories planned, loosely linked together, that somewhat follow the themes suggested for each day of Nori/Dwalin Week. 
> 
> This one is set pre-Quest in Ered Luin.

The noble dwarrowdam’s bedchamber was cradled in the heart of the Blue Mountains, lined with soft velvets and fur, and dark as pitch in the depth of the night. The lady herself lay gracefully arranged on her bed, the soft exhalation of her breath the only sound to be heard. The street far below the lady’s window was quiet at this late hour. The streetlights that lent the illusion of daytime to the underground dwarven city had long ago been extinguished. It was night.

No one was awake – no one, that is, except Dwalin. She stood silent and watchful in a corner of the room, tasked with protecting one very silly dwarrowdam and her magnificent collection of jewelry.

It was Thorin’s fault. He should have told Lady Beyla to hire her own damned guard. But nooo…

“Prince Thorin, you must _protect_ me!” squealed the noble dwarrowdam, clutching the exasperated prince’s arm in an unbreakable grip. “That dreadful thief! My jewels – my life – oh, I’m so afraid!”

She’d wanted Thorin himself to stand guard in her bedroom, and had only reluctantly agreed to a substitute. Furthermore, the noble lady had clearly hoped that if she couldn’t have Prince Thorin, she would get some other husky male dwarf to spend the night in her bedroom. But Thorin had ignored Lady Beyla’s hints and winks, insisting that Dwalin, a dwarrowdam, was his very best guard. That’s what she needed, right? Someone to guard her valuable jewels?

The lady had run her eyes over Dwalin, inspecting the shaved and lavishly tattooed sides of her head and the tall, bristly crest of hair that swept from her brow to the nape of her neck. Beyla’s gaze ran over Dwalin’s broad shoulders and taut round biceps, and down her lean and well-muscled but clearly female form dressed in plain warrior’s garb.

“I suppose she’ll do,” Lady Beyla had pouted. Then she flounced away, leaving Dwalin to follow her.

Standing in the dark room, resigned to the task she’d been given, Dwalin wondered if there even _was_ a thief. Perhaps the lady had hoped to take the dwarf assigned to guard her into her bed. Or maybe she was planning to have a threesome with her guard and this dreadful thief.

Whatever the case, Dwalin had no intention of participating in bed games with Lady Beyla or anybody else. She hadn’t bedded anyone for years; people thought she was craft-wedded, but the truth was, it has just been a long time since she’d met anybody she really wanted to fuck. Dwalin was picky, was all.

Dwalin rubbed her nose; Lady Beyla’s favorite scent made her want to sneeze. She shifted from one foot to another. There wouldn’t be a thief. This was just another wasted eve—

A slight scratching at the windowpane brought Dwalin to high alert. The window swung silently open and the outline of a dwarf slipped through. Dwalin shot a glance toward the bed, but the lady was still asleep. The intruder ghosted over to the wall safe, nothing but a shimmer of warmth in the air marking a new presence in the room. Barely audible clicks sounded as the tumblers fell in the expensive lock. The door to the safe swung open, and the thief let out a small sigh of satisfaction.

So, not a lover. A thief in truth.

Dwalin sprang forward, guided by her keen night vision and the thief’s body heat. Her hands clamped down on the thief’s arms and she drove her thumbs deep into the nearest pressure points to gain control. Something small and round hit her boot and bounced away.

The thief froze, and Dwalin felt a surge of triumph. _Caught you, thief._ Then suddenly, surprisingly, the thief twisted and broke her hold.

 _How—?_ With a growl, Dwalin grabbed for the thief any way she could, clamping her arms completely around rock-hard shoulders and squeezing tight, face to face in an unloving embrace. The thief was about half a head shorter than she was, wiry and strong. She could feel a hardness pressing against her thigh as she grappled him to her. Male.

He struggled to draw back his head and she laid her cheek against his, to keep him from head-butting her. His beard was held in tight braids by a thick metal clasp. The thief was fighting hard, and managed to work one arm free. Dwalin braced herself to squeeze the breath out of him before he could do her any damage.

Then the thief did something completely unexpected.

He chuckled. His free hand went up, grabbing the tall crest of her hair, and pulled her head around to cover her mouth with a hard kiss. His lean, tough body pressed against hers. In the dark there was nothing to see, only touch and scent and warmth. It was the shock of it, the sheer unabashed nerve of his lips and tongue meeting hers, that loosened her grip.

“You win,” he breathed as he wiggled from her grasp. A ghost of a laugh trailed over her senses and then the thief darted out through the open window. Dwalin lunged after him, but he was gone.

“Damn!” Dwalin raged, forgetting to lower her voice.

She stared down the sheer drop from Lady Beyla’s bedchamber window to the street several hundred feet below. There were no window-ledges, no hand- or footholds on the smooth rock wall. Even the windows were too far apart for any dwarf to reach.

 _Where_ had he gone?

The figure on the bed stirred and the noble dwarrowdam said lazily, “Damn is right. I wanted to watch.” The lady lit the bedside lantern, and Dwalin blinked in the sudden bright light.

Dwalin snarled, “Did you arrange this? Is this some game?”

“No, no, not at all! But I do admit that what I could hear sounded very interesting indeed,” the lady said, smirking. “Such a clever thief. One wonders who he might have kissed, if you hadn’t been here.”

Dwalin exhaled slowly through her nose. Nobles like this one could all die a death of fire.

“If you were trying to lure this thief into your bed, you didn’t need me here,” Dwalin growled. She massaged the back of her neck. “You could have spared me the trouble.”

“Well, but I wasn’t – not really, darling. But one has heard stories.” Lady Beyla looked thoughtful. “There’s this very charming dwarf who’s been attending all the best parties recently. He’s said to be a delightful lover, and so very sympathetic when his lady friends are robbed of their jewels. And so I thought, perhaps…But of course now I’ll never know if it’s the same dwarf.”

Dwalin looked at Lady Beyla with curiosity. Maybe she wasn’t as silly as she appeared. “Sorry I can’t tell you if it’s the same person. I don’t attend all the best parties.”

“What a pity,” the lady sighed. “Oh, well. It’s your loss. Now, did the thief get away with anything?”

Dwalin frowned down at the floor. She’d thought she’d felt something … Ah, there it was – a spectacular cushion-cut emerald, big enough to cover the palm of her hand. She bent down and picked it up. “Looks like he didn’t.”

The noble dwarrowdam held out her hand, and Dwalin placed the jewel in it.

“I’ll check the rest of them later,” the lady said. “He probably won’t be back tonight. Do get some rest, dear.”

Dwalin sighed and walked home, even though Lady Beyla invited her to spend the night in a guest room as plush as a jewel box.

She stayed alert as she strode down the dark and empty streets, but saw no one. Not a single dwarf was abroad that late in that quiet, elegant neighborhood. She didn’t even feel the tell-tale prickle of someone watching from the shadows.

Dwalin was alone.

Somewhere in Ered Luin, a jewel thief was laughing. He probably thought he was safe. Even though Dwalin didn’t know what he looked like, she knew how tall he was. What he smelled like. The way his lips tasted.

She hadn’t caught the jewel thief this night.

But one of these nights, she would.


End file.
